2000 year old temple of Thiruvalla Vallabha swami

This is one of the 108 sacred Vishnu temples located 10 kms from Changasherry between Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala of South India.

The main deity in this temple is Sri Vallabha or Vishnu who is 8 foot tall in standing pose facing east. Instead of sandalwood paste, sacred ash is given as prasad (which is usually reserved for Shiva temples).

It is a 2000 year old temple and there is an inscription mentioning the year as 59 AD.It is said that the Chera king Cheraman Perumal had a dream in which the lord appeared and pointed to the exact location and ask him to dig the place. The king found this statue and coincidentally there was another temple which was under construction awaiting a statue.The king kept the statue of Sri Vallabha in this temple. The newly build statue was sent to a place called Malayin Keezh.

Pujas are done 5 times a day and the Lord is worshipped in 5 different forms

Early Morning Puja – Brahmachari

Morning Puja – Sanyasi

Noon Puja – As a King

Evening Puja – As Lord Narayana

Night Puja – As Narayana with his consort Lakshmi

There are shrines for Varaha, Dakshinamoorthy, Ayappan, Ganapathi and Yakshis. Everyday Kathakali dance is performed in the nights and it is one of the main worship.

Location: Thiruvalla, Kerala, India